Monday, January 21, 2019

"Here are some sounds I've been working on with my Prophet X. Some patches are direct covers of movie themes but a lot of them are original sounds inspired by these flicks. No overdubs or mastering. Everything is played in real time or with the accompaniment of the onboard sequencer and arpeggiator.

There are some common influences in there like Big Trouble In Little China, The Blob and Children Of The Corn but there's also a lot of obscure ones like Robowar, Blood Beach and Aenigma.

"This is a very rare pre-production version of an obscure, but amazing-sounding 2-VC0 analogue synthesizer that was handmade in very limited quantities in Hastings in the UK. There's no box, but has a downloaded manual and is in very good condition.

This prototype has the beautiful metal ends that were replaced on the production version by not so nice white thermo-moulded plastic. This means the end cheeks are not labelled on this machine, but the controls there are just CV; gate; tuning; volume; external input; and power input.

This may appeal more to a collector given its somewhat eccentric design, but capable of very raw and powerful sounds, particularly if you like Radiophonic-style music or vintage EMS-style sounds. See Cuckoo and Automatic Gainsay clips on Youtube for a good demonstration of what it can do.

The S2 can be played from its own Wasp-like keyboard (by hand or stylus, included) or controlled via CV/gate. I ran it with a Roland A-01 for MIDI control, but any standard MIDI-CV converter such as a Kenton would do the job."

"Thunderous unit, plenty of tweakable knobs, midi controllable (in and thru), they only come with euro power buy uk adapter included as per pic.

Site blurb......

MBS-100 is a monophonic bass synthesizer inspired by synthesizers produced in the soviet era times while having the flexibility, MIDI control and compact package of the 21st century. It has 19 knobs, 3 switches and 4 buttons with which you can control the parameters of the sound and MIDI.

"Jasper Wijnands a.k.a Shook is an independent producer, composer and musician based in The Netherlands. Shook’s’ music is inspired by artists such as Air and Yellow Magic Orchestra. In 2013 Shook released his self-titled debut album and later released the synth-pop and jazz funk inspired Spectrum in 2014, from which Milestones was featured in the very first episode of Netflix series Better Call Saul. He has been commissioned to do remixes for artists Kimbra, Jamiroquai, Phoenix, Ellie Goulding and many others.

We chatted with Jasper on how he’s using Sequential instruments in his music."

"This is an upgrade for the Roland MKS-30 rack mount synth module. This upgrade will add full midi support, Arp and Sequencer and 1536 tones storage. The upgrade also adds a LCD display into the redundant cartridge slot.

The Kiwi-30 Upgrade features:

1536 Tones in 3 Sets of 512 can be stored and all can be edited. It is also possible to edit any Tone using the front panel, PG-200 or midi.

Tones are stored in Flash memory so no battery is required.

MidiCC & Sysex support for parameters edits and Midi Sysex support for Tone Dump & Load. The Kiwi30 will support full midi control and editing in real time.

The Midi Through Port on the MKS-30 is converted to Midi Out so midi dumps can be made

DCO Key Assign Detune available in all key modes. In addition there is a 'Analog Feel' parameter that add an adjustable small random frequency to each note. Detune is best used with Poly Dual, Poly Triple or Unison keying modes for greatest effect

Three independent envelope generators. These are traditional ADSR type. Each ENV Mod can select from ENV 1 - 3 and has an Inverted or Normal modes.

Three independent Low Frequency Oscillators with 6 waveforms each. Each LFO Mod can select from LFO 1-3. LFOs can be plus and minus base note or plus base note only. There is a forth LFO that is dedicated to the Chorus Mod

Torsten Spiller, the man behind the case will also make the STL files for 3D printers available for those that want to print their own: "A lot of work and effort during the last weeks to get this thing finalised. A fully modular 3D printed Eurorack case. I will also share STL files for 3D printers soon that the modules can be either bought through my online shop or stl files downloaded from my webpage. I will also share STL files for 3D printers soon that the modules can be either bought through my online shop or stl files downloaded from my webpage."

"Why be limited to modules when it comes to a flexible modular system? Why not also to be flexible with the casing? The SP1 growths with your needs. From the small to-go modular drum synthesiser setup up to the fully fledged modular home system…or even combine a stationary system with a mobile system. The SP1 can be extended vertical as well as horizontal.

"The Erogenous Tones RADAR is an octal (8-channel) envelope generator with AD, AR, and looping options. It offers a large amount of control over the shape of the envelope, as well as options to combine envelopes together, including quad and octal 'LFO' modes.

The Erogenous Tones RADAR is an octal (8-channel) envelope generator with AD, AR, and looping options. It features quadrature and octature modes where sets of four or eight envelope channels are sequenced to create overlapping patterns:

The Erogenous Tones RADAR is an octal (8-channel) envelope generator with AD, AR, and looping options. Its BLiP Radar Expander Module adds a number of capabilities, including presets, digital attenuators, inverting and “rolling” (folding) the envelopes, chaining them together, delay, and more. This movie covers the features I personally like:

"Plasma Drive is the Erica Fusion series module developed in collaboration with the high voltage distortion experts Gamechanger Audio."

"It's official. Plasma Drive is the Erica Fusion Series module developed in collaboration with Gamechanger Audio. Available from 20th of February 2019. Video demo out now!

Gamechanger Audio is a Latvian company committed to exploring the uncharted territories of music electronics and creating devices that provide real value while stretching the imagination of both musicians and engineers. In their Plasma Pedal they managed to combine Tesla coil with a lots of Rock and Roll and the result is one of the worlds heaviest sounds with plenty of unique features and the potential to become the new standard of distortion.

Similar as Plasma Pedal, Plasma Drive gives you a new and previously unexplored method of achieving signal clipping in 16HP. Instead of using LED circuits, transistors or vacuum tubes to produce overdrive, the Plasma Drive boosts audio signal to 3000V and transforms it into a series of continuous high-voltage discharges in a xenon-filled tube. In essence – you are playing a lightning bolt of electricity, and the electrical discharges produced by your instrument are instantly converted back into an analogue audio signal, producing a quick, responsive, and extremely heavy distortion with tons of unique character!

The eurorack module Plasma Drive brings sounds of the Plasma Pedal to the next level. As per eurorack standards we added CV control over distortion level and dry/wet mix, as well as octave up and 1 and 2 octaves down tracking oscillators that add even more harmonics to the original signal. Tracking oscillators can be switched on/off manually or via trigger signals. The Plasma Drive module is powered via conventional eurorack PSU ribbon cable and the power consumption is around 150mA.

FEATURES:

o Unique distortion flavour

o CV control over distortion and dry/wet mix

o Assignable equalizer (pre- and post effect)

o 1 octave up & 1 and 2 octaved down tracking oscillators

Release date 20th of February 2019

Plasma Drive module will be exhibited @ NAMM Show 2019 within Gamechanger Audio,

"Very rare String Machine for sale, the iconic EKO Stradivarius. A collectors item in good condition considering it's age, lid included. Plays great, good key action, sliders are in good shape, no oxidation or double triggering. Tons of character and, with all the sections engaged, capable of a BIG sound! Six sections with individual volume controls for each section, making it versatile compared to many string machines from the same era. Variable Attack and decay controls. Quite similar to the very first Model Solina, the bass and cello sounds are spot on, while the other four sections are unique, again, see the video of this very machine on sale here. Much lighter in weight, with 16 kilos to the Solinas whopping 26."

"Triple slew limiter and random voltage generator don’t come with this sell.
Very good condition but there’s a little crack on the wood that was fixed ( you can see on the picture, on the back left side)
The module was serviced last summer."

Bouncy, acid-y, self-resonant 24db filter on top and a rich growling 12db filter on the bottom. The bottom has a feedback knob which seems to inject sound between the two filters. Multiple attenuated audio and CV inputs on both.

This module has very solid construction and everything is in great shape.

This is the mk 1 version."

Update2: Some additional info via Vedic Scapes:

"Some of these module where sold in kits (Panel + PCB),the Lassence brand reffers only to the bottom filter electronics inside the module (its the same as the one in the now 'vintage' Lassence Ventury II) other then that there is no commercial relationship between the Lassence brand name owner and the manufacturing of the modules.

"Synthor System
Engine, remote, stand, 6 Wireless Pro AudioCubes, usb hub/charger and cables. Super powerful and cool performance synth. The Engine has a lot of DNA in common with the SSP. Can be controlled completely by the cubes or used as a Deep midi driven synth. Kick Ass piece of industrial design, and unique concept for synthesis. Got this for a collaborative project that fell apart (distance does not make the work grow faster). This has been sitting on my dining room table, unloved for months (and months). Have a new os upgrade and processor heatsink Bert sent me that has yet to be installed. New project and different horizons beckon."

"Redefine your expectations. Force blurs the lines between contemporary music production solutions and next-generation live performance technology, setting the precedence for a new industry standard. In this workflow tutorial, we investigate Force’s potential as a live DJ performance tool. Also shown our friends Denon DJ's Prime Series DJ system."

"Two PT2399 delay chips in series and four feedback loops! Well, this module can do some cool things to audio that is fed into it, but I get lost in it for hours with nothing in its input. So, here is an example of a few of the sonic possibilities.

"Here's a viewer request video on how to sync Korg Ds10 running on a Nintendo DS into a Korg Volca. The process involves creating a panned click on Ds10 and playing all other audio from the Ds from the other channels. It's great for adding to your Volca set up as the synths in Ds10 are flexible enough to make all kinds of synth sounds to add layers to a Volca setup, including synthesised drums. Plus a second hand Ds can be picked up for peanuts at the moment. The game can also be picked up fairly cheaply so the total price is a lot cheaper than adding another Volca to your setup."

"Here is a quick capture of the upcoming app for Apple iPad and iPhone
This is a 6 channel Noise Drum Synth with various wave shaping features
Based on the cousin app design 2XB303
A modified internal engine but with familiar UI and controls
This allows you to get creative with drum synthesis and effects
Synced to your other Ableton Link apps and routing through Audio bus etc"

"With the special lightweight version of SynthScaper LE you can easily create and modify your own multi-timbral pads and atmospheric soundscapes. Three separate sound generators in this application give you possibility to create complex sound scenes by mixing and moving them in a common sound space using a spatial mixer. No need to construct a new sound from the beginning. Just use the built-in library of unique and high-quality presets for sound generators.

- Three sound generators each work as individual synth with its own preset.
- The scene combines all generators and mixer to create complex sounds.
- Spatial mixer simulates the common sound space for generators.
- The ability to easily tune the key parameters of sound generators.
- Multifunctional sequencer / arpeggiator for each generator.
- Screen keyboard designed for continuous variations with sound.
- Assign MIDI controls to parameters of generators and mixer.
- Completely compatible with advanced version of SynthScaper.
- Import scenes with samples from advanced SynthScaper.
- Support Audio unit (AUv3), Inter-app audio, Audiobus and Ableton Link.
- Auto detect and assign controls of MIDI keyboards (only specific models)."

"👉 https://www.albaecstasy.ro/roland-sh-...
These patches has been made for my #RolandSH01A. Carefully crafted for (my) Berlin School & Ambient (and not only) Electronic Music.
No EQ or compression. External reverb and delay (#BossRV6 & #BossDD7), to hear how it may sound on a mix."

"Redefine your expectations. Force blurs the lines between contemporary music production solutions and next-generation live performance technology, setting the precedence for a new industry standard. In this performance video, we hook up British DJ, producer, singer and songwriter Shift K3Y performing 'Rhythm of the Drum' using nothing but Force."

Force in Session – Just Blaze

Published on Jan 21, 2019 AkaiProVideo

"Redefine your expectations. Force blurs the lines between contemporary music production solutions and next-generation live performance technology, setting the precedence for a new industry standard. In this video we hook up with American hip hop producer and DJ Just Blaze in NYC, discussing his thoughts on how Force revolutionizes his live performance workflow."

"For this demo Akai Force meets the elektron digitone and the moog grandmother. I used two channels of the digitone via midi. I recorded the moog grandmother bass parts direct to audio tracks. I then capture the two tracks of audio from the digitone to audio tracks. Also added the pads from one of the synth plugins from the Force. Added a vocal sample drum track / program that I recorded via the Force inputs. I Also have two cv tracks in the project but didn’t use them this go around. Here I did a quick performance of clip and scenes launching using the xyfx."

Sunday, January 20, 2019

"So there were a few influences at work here. I really like how the Peak manages such a huge sound. Basses that cut. Pads that.... cut. It's all so fun. Also featured here is a drum kit from the Yamaha Montage. It never ceases to provide awesome, useful sounds. This reminds me of stuff we used to go dancing to in 1989. Oh, and don't smoke the reefer. It will turn you into a maniac."

"In this video the Peak is doing all the synth and the Montage is doing all the drums. There are really only three patches. One Peak pad, one Peak bass, and one Montage drum kit. My Montage was probably about 3x the cost of the Peak.﻿"

"When this came out, it was presented as a modern Prophet 5. And though it has essentially been replaced by the Prophet 6 and Rev 2, it's still worth considering if you want an analog poly synth with plenty of knobs. I just added a touch of reverb here and you may notice this video is a little shorter...I just don't love this thing. I find the Prophet 6 sounds way better to my ears. But again, if you don't already have a polysynth or two in your arsenal, it's worth considering since prices have come down."

"As requested by a dozen or more people, here's the Rollin' & Scratchin' synth tutorial.

Ideally you'd have a 1984 Juno-106, as it has fully implemented midi control, but I'm using the 1982 Juno-6 as that's what I have. The workaround is that I had to use the arpeggiator with external triggers for the opening bit of the video.

The other part of the sound is the Boss HM-2 "Heavy Metal" pedal. I'm using an original Japanese unit, but I imagine the later Taiwanese version will be almost identical. You could also try the MT-2 "Metal Zone" pedal too.

I am using preset Delay setting L2 at 46%
The Moog Grandmother is 10000% AWESOME!!
If you have one or have played one you already know this!
I am loving this Moog synthesizer, it really gives me the TRUE
vintage MOOG sound & feel... so I always try to make a video
that has visuals... this is me late night tweaking, no other FX
used but the ART Multi Verb LT then into Ableton LIVE.

Thank you for watching!
Need any Synthesizer Samples for your next track
and want to save a TON of money? Here are only a few
of my HQ synthesizer sample collections in .WAV format
able to load into ANY device that reads .WAV files!

The Elka Synthex was developed by independent Italian designer Mario Maggi. Only 1850 units were ever produced by Italian company Elka between 1981 and 1985. Famous artists who used it include Jean-Michel Jarre and Stevie Wonder etc.

What an amazing sounding synth and master piece of engineering - we can't stop playing it :-)"

"Get more familiar with the 500 presets the Korg Prologue has to offer. I love building patches as much as the next guy, but sometimes some instant inspiration is what's desperately needed. The Prologue makes it really easy to find a specific patch, or to find a patch based on the type of sound you are looking for.
These are the pads. My apologies for the repetitive playing and progressions-- still improving my chord-smarts.

This is the 16 voice version of the Korg Prologue, and the low frequency compressor is about half way. I probably should have turned that OFF.
(I definitely should have turned it off)

Also, experience the surreal beauty and the technological marvel that is the MR TUNA HOLO-DISPLAY 2000™ Virtual-Synthesizer-Holographic-Display System™ as it displays real time patch and sound information on it's informative Information Display™"

"The first ContinuuCon Haken Continuum Conference, held in Asheville in 2016, was a big success and a great start . The following year, we were back in Asheville, hosted by the University of North Carolina Asheville. 2018 took things to the next level in Paris at IRCAM, the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music).

2019 brings ContinuuCon back to Asheville, again hosted by the University of North Carolina Asheville Department of Music. more at continuucon.com"

"Today I decided to expand on yesterday's setup by way of adding the Minilogue's plucky younger cousin the Monologue to the party.

The Monologue is being used as a drum synth (I think I use it more for 'drums' than for anything else these days!) and the Minilogue is providing a pulsating pad. As with most of this years jamuary jams, the Zoom MS-CDR70 is on delay and reverb duty (and acting as a makeshift mixer)."

"This pad was originally programmed by Uwe Zahn for NonLinear Labs’ C15 synthesizer. I modified it a bit and thought the short demo might be of interest. I’ve used it also in a short video together with the MatrixBrute:"

"Here's the intro of Funeral for a Friend played on the new firmware 2.5 of the Novation BASS STATION II (monophonic / 2 voice paraphonic) Synthesizer.

I made use of the new "oscillator error" feature that basically simulates the sound of early synthesizers that were unstable at times.

Look. Nothing beats the original song. To think that this was recorded note by note on a ARP 2500 to create polyphony that early in the world of synthesizers just blows my mind.

I would like to point out that I don't work for or with Novation, but I am always a strong supporter of companies that keeps working on their products and offer you awesome upgrades without asking a dime from you. Some companies should take notes here."

"The Marf was built by Boops with Alp siders and a beautiful HQ panel, and few months later I upgraded to the latest firmware.
It has always been working perfectly.
Thanks to the new firmware, pulses outs work even when the Marf is triggered to the start and stops ins.
Expander also works perfectly."

"Cyndustries Gate Sequencer. The LEDs were too bright for me so I put tape over them. The banana connectors are a bit corroded. I speculate that the previous owner kept this module in a humid environment. 100% working. US buyers in the Continental US only. No power cable or mounting screws included..."

"Hidden gem and underdog of the 80s VCO polysynths, the Chroma Polaris is the last in the proud ARP lineage of fine synths.

This one has fresh membrane panels (installed late 2018) so will good-to-go for many years. This unit was professionally serviced, calibrated, by Greg Montalbano of Analog Synth Service in Oakland CA this year.

One of the first MIDI synths, it features the same CEM chips as famed Oberheim Xpander, which means awesome, crystalline and slightly metallic sound to the oscillators...which you'll never find in a soft synth or digital synth.

"Note the area right above the display is coming up a bit. Via this listing: "I have been the original owner of this amazing and very powerful synthesizer. I recently fully tested it and all the keys are responsive, all functions are working and it sounds beautifull. Shows some signs of wear but in overall still looks great considering it's age. The only issue i encountered was the Floppy Drive, i tried formatting a double density disk but it just gave me a message that says "disk is not formatted" I looked at the drive inside and its really dusty. I honestly dont have the time to clean or fix it. Aside from this everything else works great."

"A very simple test render of a model of my modular synth, based mainly on Doepfer modules with by Dreadbox. I normally like to fully 3d model my synths but in this case that was kind of over the top, as it would basically have involved modelling each module, switch, slider, LED as well as the cables and the screws attaching each module to the case. So in the end I decided to film the system in action and put that on a simple, square piece of geometry. The black case is a different object, but I wanted to see if I could get away with doing it that simple and as long as I don't turn the case too much, it all seems to be quite effective in fooling you that there's depth to it all."

"We were excited to add a Qu-Bit Nebulae to the Mad Music Machine, especially as it is powered by a Raspberry Pi and the Mad Music Machine began it's life as a small network of Raspberry Pis.

Our last Raspberry Pi project used our Astro Pi code (which ran on the International Space Station) to make music, so we thought we should follow up with another space-based project for this video.

We downloaded the raw 'Martian Winds' sounds from the NASA website and loaded them onto the Qu-Bit Nebulae. The Nebulae has independent control of (playback) speed and pitch which allowed us to bring the 'wind' sounds up more into the audible range.

We created an 'industrial' rhythm by using a 'sample and hold' LFO within Bitwig (via our Expert Sleepers ES8) matched to our Make Noise Tempi clock. This modulation signal was used to 'Freeze' the output of the Nebulae.

We also created wavetables for our E352 by loading the downloaded 'Martian Winds' into the Synthesis Technology WaveEdit program. We sequenced the E352 with our Make Noise René 2 to create the "Touchdown Confirmed" bass line / melody.

We loaded the NASA commentary of the landing into our 4MS Stereo Triggered Sample which was sequenced and synchronised with the rest of the patch using our Tip Top Circadian Rhythms.

All sounds within the patch were generated from the InSight mission with the exception of the Hexinverter Kick, Snare and Clap.

We recorded the audio using Bitwig Studio with our Nektar Panorama P6 controlling the Mixer.

And finally, following previous feedback, Caitlin's voice was recorded using a RØDE Smartlav+ Lavalier Microphone.

We are aware the video focusing is not great in this video so that is the next thing we need to work on!"

"Hi Folks.
I have a small movie showing some sound from PICO VOICE - Erica Synths I also used here a few modules that can still be taken for almost half the price like Black Modulator, Black Quad VCA, Black VC EG, Black Hole DSP, Black Dual VCF, Black Stereo Mixer or Pico SWITCH which later I used for a moment as a switch to Mute for Pico Drums in which there is Kick and one sample.
here is just a small part of these sounds that are available in this module.
Also, it's worth adding with PICO VOICE itself the module features 8 sound generation algorithms: Karplus Strong, Chords, Wavetable, TB303 bassline emulation, PWM, Supersaw, Wavefold and Harmonic saturation, with three adjustable parameters per algorithm and CV control over one user defined parameter. Despite the small size, Pico Voice sounds bigger than it is."

"This is a demo of the PANOPTIGON- the new Optigan/Orchestron disc playing instrument by Quilter Labs, developed in association with optigan.com.

Kraftwerk is undoubtedly the most famous user of the original Vako Orchestron, which can be heard on all their albums from the late 1970s. Most notable is their use of the VOCAL CHOIR disc, but they also made good use of the VIOLIN disc, heard on such tracks as 1977's "Franz Schubert." We painstakingly transcribed the two Orchestron tracks from the original recording and created a sequence in Cubase, which then played back the parts via MIDI into a Panoptigon loaded with a vintage VIOLIN disc just like Kraftwerk had. The left/right channel parts were then recorded in two seperate passes as audio back into cubase, and mixed with a soft synth plug-in recreating the repeating arpeggio pattern. A bit of reverb was added, but otherwise what you're hearing is the direct signal from the Panoptigon.

Please visit http://www.optigan.com for more information about the availability of the Panoptigon, as well as remastered editions of all the original Orchestron disc titles that Kraftwerk used on their albums!"

Maybe the filled out circles have to do with morphing something? and the empty ones mean something related to that?

EDIT: What if it has something to do with granular synthesis!!! The dots could represent grains!"

"im hoping granular. looks like it might be 6 voices comprised of 2 oscillators one based on a 'machine' and the other on a sample layer. Each machine probably has its own type of resonator attached to it to mimic the physics of the percussion instruments they're representing."

"This is one of my most fave tricks. Put a synth or sampler in a loop and just keep adding sound and complexity. Voice limitations and multi triggering of samples can sometimes create some very interesting outcomes :D

If anyone is interested in a video of a teardown and refurb of the ASR-X please let me know! :D"

"The Lifeforms Distro is an active audio and CV interchange with three independent sections for splitting and mixing. The outputs of each section are individually buffered and tuned to offer robust signal separation and unity gain pass-through.

The top two splitter sections create three identical, buffered copies of the incoming audio or CV signal. Perfect for pitch sensitive CV signals. The mix section offers both mixing and splitting with a two channel unity gain mixer and a set of individually buffered outputs. This section can be used as a two channel mixer, buffered signal splitter, or both."